


Foster Family

by JaliceCookie



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Childhood, Family, Forstercare, Star Trek - Freeform, Stars, Trust, happyness, safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21807988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaliceCookie/pseuds/JaliceCookie
Summary: Late in the evening Philippa Georgiou receives a call,and she get asked, to take a young girl in her foster family. When the completely frightened Michael Burnham becomes part of her family, Philippa tries everything to integrate her as best as she can and to give her a feeling of safety.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Prolog**

_2241 - The Earth - Mystic, Connecticut_

Exhausted, Philippa Georgiou put the used dishes in the replicator and took a quick look at the large kitchen clock.

It would take some time to clean the other rooms of the small house from the children's toys .

The 39-year-old woman considers briefly , whether they should simply skip this task until tomorrow, then the children could do it themselves and would be busy at the same time.

Removing it now would cause a mess again within a few hours and in the past few years, wich Philippa has worked as a foster mother, she has learned to live with the chaos that children bring into a family.

Of course, she had to put her career a little bit back, especially to be there for the newcomers in the early days.

In the meantime, thanks to flexible working hours, she was able to go to work at least in the morning and even if she is no longer able to work on a ship and explore the space, Philippa teaches at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco and this change is what she needed so badly.

At some point, when she was given the opportunity to work fully again on a spaceship, she had been assured - but at the moment Philippa wasn't thinking about it. There was too much that was taking her attention right now.

"Mum? I forgot something very important ... well not so important that lifes depends on it but ..."

The voice of Nathan, a boy who came to her at the age of 4 and came from very bad family , was - not such an young boy anymore - but he likes to skip important matters until later - until it is too late mostly.

Philippa had often tried to teach him how much better it can be, if he starts the work at the right time, but she had less success in recent years. Nevertheless, the woman could imagine how it could be, when the elementary school student came down to the kitchen at such late hour.

"Let me guess Nate - you remembered that you still have an important project to finish?", said Philippa before turning to the boy , who was standing in front of her with a small PADD in his hands and an innocent grin on his face.

  
"Um ... not really Mum. I wanted to ask if, you could look over my essay. It's not that long either - please Mum?", Nathan replied and hold the PADD out to Philippa.

At least this time it wasn't a project that had to be finished urgently.

She did not like to remember the time, when he had come to her and had had to make newspaper spaceships for the next day. In the end, Georgiou had sat in the living room with the child until 12 p.m. and helped him to complete the project.

After this action she had found the right words that he shouldn't come to her with such an situation again . It was nice to see that the boy had at least taken this advice honest.

  
"Actually, I wanted to go straight to my bedroom - but I'll take a quick look over your essay. What was the subject?"

With the PADD in her hands, she sat down at the kitchen table and started reading through the first page , while the elementary school student explained to her that it was an essay about the best holiday experience, what happened to the kids and she read that the boy was loved to remember one of the holidays with Philippa and the other foster kids.

That let Philippa forget the late time. At least for the moment.

*******

After she finished reading the essay, she handed the PADD back to the child and was rewarded with a thankful hug from Nate, before the boy went back into his room to get the necessary sleep before school would start again tomorrow.

Maybe she should take her own advice to heart and sleep a little bit too.

So the foster mother switched out the lights in the kitchen and was about to go up the stairs, when she heard the phone ring.

Of course Philippa could not ignore this, because it could always be an emergency call. So she went back, picked up the phone, and listened carefully to the information she was now receiving.

"I understand - of course, after a foster child was allowed to go back to his parents recently, I have a room available. Will you bring the girl over here tomorrow? All right, I'll prepare everything - thank you"

She hung up the phone and according to the descriptions she had received, the girl was in a very unfortunate situation.

She had lost her parents on a research station a few years ago, then was taken in by Ambassador Sarek and his wife Amanda on Vulcan - but now she was more and more controlled by her fears and nightmares that both had decided to do the right thing for the girl.

Sarek, insisted on Philippa for the forster family for the young girl, she was a little surprised - the two had met several times for diplomatic reasons, but Philippa would not have expected something like that.

She would prepare the room for the arrival of the girl tomorrow - then she would also find out the name of the child and hopefully Philippa would be able to give her the safety she needs.


	2. The new arrival

The ringing on the front door made Philippa to stop working and go straight in the direction of the door.

In the past hours she had been busy preparing the room for the young girl. It was still a strange feeling for the foster mother to no longer find the other foster child in the room , but the social workers had decided that the circumstances in the child's parents' house had improved , so much that the time had come to take the child back there. It was just part of Philippas job to let her children go - but it was heartbreaking every single time.

"Good morning Miss David", Philippa smiled at the woman from the youth welfare service and took a step to the side so that the younger woman could enter into the house.

"Good morning, Miss Georgiou - I just wanted to give you some quick information about the girl , before I pick her up and bring it to you later. It's a bit difficult for her to leave Vulcan. Can we sit down?", replied Miss David and Philippa showed her the way to the living room, where both women had settled on the sofa.

*******

"As I already told you on the phone yesterday, it is important that Michael comes into a new foster home ... because of the child's increased fears and nightmares during the last years. Amanda tried so much but that does not get through to Michael - she reached out to me together with Ambassador Sarek - both asked that it would be better for Michael to move to a different foster family and your name was spoken out ... Ambassador Sarek seems to think very much of you - in a good way"

Philippa was silent for a moment. It had been a special situation that Sarek had taken Michael in after the attack on the station.

It was in all the news and had gone through the media, but Philippa had hardly seen the ambassador in recent years. But a guess told her , that it wasn't just the girl's nightmares and fears that she was trusted to help Michael - there had to be something the social worker hadn't told her yet.

"Is there a more precise definition about Michaels growing fears?", Philippa said and got a worried expression on Miss David's face , before she got an answer to her question.

  
"Yes - according to Amanda, the nature, the character of Michael had changed in the first months after her arrival on Vulcan and the encounters with Amandas and Sarek's son Spock - she had become increasingly distant and tried so hard to make her new parents proud .... after an attack on the learning center, the heightened fear that something might happen to her family become stronger and when Michael ran away from home one evening and could be found at the last moment - it was a sign that she was in need of help- help that Amanda and Sarek are unable to give her"

The former captain felt sorry for this poor girl. It had been through so much and if she could judge Miss David's accounts correctly, Michael desperately needed a stable environment, that could help her with the fears that she was carrying around. Of course, she wanted to help the orphan. But why was the departure from Vulcan difficult?

"Poor girl - I will try my best to help her Miss David, but why is it difficult to leave Vulcan for her?", asked the foster mother a few seconds later.

  
"Michael blames herself for the situation, she doesn't want to go to earth - she doesn't want to leave her family - she apologizes so often for the mistakes she made - I hope my work colleagues are able ...", a little beeping noise interrupted Miss David's story and the young woman quickly looked at her PADD.

  
"... they are on their way to Earth with Michael. I will probably be here with the girl in two hours. She is 13 years old and I am sure that you will be able to help her", finished Miss David and then she said goodbye to Philippa and left the former captain alone.

*******

Philippa could understand, that the girl was blaming herself, but that was so hardly be her own fault - if you have to bear such a serious loss at such a young age, you can hardly drag it along with you, without that this loss has left its mark.

She herself had suffered a loss some time ago , that would have nearly driven her out of her mind - but she had seen hope at the end of the darkness ... maybe with a lot of empathy and understanding she could also give the girl back that hope as well.

After the waiting time had passed and the arrival of the new arrival was getting closer, Philippa was very happy that her other foster children would either be in school or kindergarten until late afternoon - it was always better if the new arrival had some time for themselves, before they would be greeted by the rest of the family.

When the doorbell rang a second time, Philippa had finished her preparations and had to admit that she was a little nervous every time a new foster child came into her family. Most had not less than a backpack with personal items with them and the burden on their shoulders to go into the unknown .... to get to an unknown people and to be in a new environment.

After Philippa opened the front door, Miss David gently pushed a girl with dark skin, dark eyes and short black hair in front of her and only gave Philippa an encouraging look.

"We'll be fine, Miss David - thank you very much", Philippa thanked a few moments later, when Miss David had led the young girl into the entrance area of her house and Michael was looking around shyly.

  
"I will be looking after you in a few weeks - but I wish you a nice start in this week", said Miss David, and disappeared from the house.

After the front door had closed, Philippa wanted to turn to the new arrival- but then noticed how Michael was looking at her.

In the volcanic way - in spite of the uncertainty she tried to hide, there was something ´scanning´ in the eyes of the 13 year old girl.

"I will now show you your room Michael - there you can rest a little, if you want to", Philippa spoke kindly, after she introduced herself to the young girl.

  
"I would prefer to do my homework. Even if the standards of the schools on earth cannot keep up with my personal expectations", Michael said and Philippa smiled, without say anything to that respond, she just nodded and then led Michael to her room.


	3. High standards

Philippa could understand that the whole situation must be very difficult to cope with for Michael.

But what this young girl currently needs most is time to arrive in her new home. Time to get used to the new surroundings and the new faces and the fact that she won't see Sarek, Amanda and Spock for a while now.

The former captain wanted to give the child a chance to rest in her room, unpack her small backpack she had brought with and not to be overwhelmed by questions or pressure.

Nevertheless, Philippa was about to bring a small snack to her, later in the afternoon.

Even though Michael said she wanted to do the homework because she needed to start school here on Earth in a few days, Philippa couldn't leave her upstairs without something to eat. Who knew when the 13-year-old had last eaten something - when she makes such strong self-reproaches to herself?

When she knocked on the door later and the answer was an quiet yes, Philippa opened the door with one hand and went into the room. As she expected, Michael was sitting at the desk, leaning over a book and taking notes in her PADD.

  
"I thought you might be hungry and want to eat something. I didn't know exactly what you like, but I hope a sandwich with peanut butter and Jellyis fine?", Philippa asked, placing the plate with the sandwich on the free space of the desk. It was always difficult for the Malaysian-born to find out what the preferences of the children, who came new to the family were, precisely because she received very little information about the kids.

It took time to figure out the little details. Most children, however, liked this type of sandwich very much. So what could go wrong this time?

"What is a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich?", Michael asked, looking up from her notes and critically at the plate . She couldn't remember ever trying anything called peanut butter. The young girl, on the other hand, knew strawberry jam, but wasn't the biggest fan of it either.

  
"Oh - it's a very popular snack. The other children sometimes get these sandwiches between lunch or dinner time", said Philippa, and she could tell from the girl's face that she was interested in trying some of it, but then went back to her notes.

  
"I want to finish my homework first. I don't know anything about the new school. I don't want to be sent there without knowledge", Michael said, pushing the plate a little further away.

  
"Are you sure? It is sometimes very difficult to learn with an empty stomach. I can also make you something else to eat?", Philippa suggested and only got a no head shake from Michael.

  
"No. I'm going to give you a list of the food and drinks I prefer - then you don't have to bother to find it out", Michael said in the typical volcanic tone and if it might look arrogant to outsiders, but Philippa knew that it was the way to deal with each other on Vulcan.

"Okay, if something should be or you need my help, I'll go back downstairs and clean up a bit in the kitchen. After all, the others want spaghetti for dinner tonight, and with so many children, you have to plan when you start to cook", replied Philippa and got a questioning look from the girl as an reaction.

  
"You don't use a replicator to make the food?", Michael asked skeptically. Of course, Amanda had also cooked fresh food on Vulcan, but it was not uncommon that she used the replicator.

  
"Sometimes yes - but mostly I try to cook fresh. And most of my children like it a little bit more that way", Philippa explained, and she remembered that she would need a lot of spaghetti - even if she doesn't have as many foster children at the moment , the existing ones love to eat spaghetti for dinner.

  
"How many other children do you have at the moment?", Michael continued with a scanning look on her face.

  
"At the moment there are - including you - four other foster children", was Philippas answer and Michael only raised an eyebrow before dropping it again and now turned completely to her notes.

After Philippa had closed the door behind her, she had to admit that she was impressed by the high demands that Michael made of herself. If Nathan would be so focused abput school, she would be happy for that. Nevertheless, she would keep an eye on this behavior, because even if you want to prepare well, you should take a break now and then. Also this high self-confidence could get her sooner or later into trouble.

  
  



	4. Unusual

Michael had finally written down the notes she needed for the next day. She wanted to be prepared and not be noticed as an outcast in the class.

Even if she could already imagine , that the material she was being taught , would not keep up with the knowledge that she had learned at Vulcan. But school wouldn't be the only thing the teenager would have to get used to.

Already the journey from Vulcan to Earth had triggered mixed feelings in her, apart from the fact that she did not want to leave Sarek, Amanda and Spock, the climate and the atmosphere of the earth was something, that Michael would have to get used to again - whether she wanted or not.

The sandwich was still in the same place , as it was a few hours ago and Michael couldn't help but didn´t want to try it. Not because she wasn't hungry it was more because she didn't want to try anything new and because she was a little nervous about meeting the other foster children from Philippa.

She got on well until the incident with her brother, which is why the girl still feels terribly guilty but never apologized to Spock for her choice of words.

But Michael didn't particularly like coming across three other children any time soon. She was fine by herself - why Philippa didn´t understand that?

  
Still, she put her notes and book in a backpack and listened to the increasing volume of noise , that came up from the basement. The other children must have finished school.

Was she ready to face the many new faces? No. Would she still have to do it? Yes.

*******

Dinner was already on the table and after the children had put their backpacks to the appropriate place, Philippa told them about the new addition that would enrich their family.

She hadn't told the children yet, because they were surprised by yesterday's call theirselfes and the reaction of the family members were very different.

Two of the kids were looking forward to getting to know Michael better, the others were just looking impatiently for dinner on their plates.

  
"You know what our rules are - we only eat when everyone is at the table", Philippa explained again and after she called Michael downstairs, you could hear steps from the stairs.

  
"But I'm starving mom - really - my lunch was sooo long ago," came a heavy sigh from one of the children, who was really more interested in dinner than his new sister. What could be better than spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner?

"Please sit down Michael. Children, this is Michael Burnham she belongs to our family now and I want you to be nice to her", Philippa introduced the other foster children to the teenager and Michael gave a short nod to the other children , before she settled in the only free seats left at the table.

The other children gave a unanimous yes and after Michael sat down, she looked at the other children. They all looked so happy in the presence of Philippa and for a moment the teenager wondered how they ended up here.

When it came to eating, the mood was so carefree and happy that Michael couldn't help but look at the scenario with skepticism.

She was not used to reporting on school experiences during dinner, generally speaking or talking loudly about her day.

In her old home, there had always been strict rules for behavior at the dinner table. Slightly unsettled by these new impressions, which she had never asked for, Michael started to focus on her own dinner.

"Hi Michael - I'm Nathan - how old are you?"  
When she was approached by a boy who must be younger than herself, Michael put her fork aside and appraised the child. What would he do, if she gave him an answer? Except for starting a conversation - another point in which Michael was not particularly good.

  
"13 - why do you care about that?", Michael wanted to know and Nathan just gave her an amused grin.  
"Then you're almost the oldest of us - Skylar is 14 and so exhausting", said Nathan, laughing, and got an angry look from the girl named Skylar.

  
"After all, when I was 9 years old, I knew that you didn't use a broom to fence Nathan. Instead, you used to clean the driveway", Skylar countered annoyed.  
"It was a great fencing toy", Nathan said happly.

  
"Don't be surprised Michael - Nathan tries to make something funny out of everything - even household chores", Skylar added  
"And the entrance has never been so clean before ...right Mum?", Nathan replied and Philippa just nodded with a smile.

  
"You mean the driveway never took so long to get clean? Then yes", Skylar said, before eating some of her dinner.

  
"Do Skylar and Michael go to the same school Momy?", said a little boy who had to be around five years old and now looked directly at Michael, with a lot of curiosity in his eyes.

Philippa took a sip of water before trying to answer this question.

  
"Yes Logan, but it will take a few more days before Michael will go to school, after all I want Michael to settle in with us first , before she goes straight to a new school", Philippa calmly explained to the little boy.

  
"Then she can sleep longer- getting up early is stupid", Logan complained loudly.

  
"Depends on whether you need to write an important test or not", Skylar muttered, and at that moment Logan noticed that he had completely forgotten to tell Michael how old he was.

  
"I am already five years old Michael - and soon I will be able to go to school too", said Logan proudly and there was a tooth gap when he grinned.

  
"That's ... fascinating", Michael replied a little overwhelmed and was glad that all the children were introduced by name and their age was named.

She would focus now towards her dinner again and hoped, to be able to go to her room afterwards - because this unusual situation was a little too much for Michael at once. 


	5. Walk

**Walk**

Over the next few Days Michael was more distant, with the Exception of meals spending most of the time in her Room and otherwise you could hardly see her.

The girl avoided interaction with her new Siblings as much as possible and had read the new school books for the second time. So nothing would stand in the way of starting school at the local Junior high school in a few days right?

"You are still reading? We are changing that now - you have the special honor of getting a tour of Mystic. Guided by me and I don't want to hear excuses about how boring a village with only 4,000 inhabitants can be. There is the best pizza place in the whole State"

A little confused, Michael looked away from the Book and now noticed that Skylar was standing in the door frame, looking at her promptly and not dressed in the school uniform that Michael had already received and carefully hung in the closet - no, because Skylar was wearing casual clothes.

But that wasn't the Reason for Michael's confused expression.

  
"Shouldn't Philippa be back from work already?", was Michael's question, ignoring the older girl's chuckle.

It was a simple statement, because usually Philippa always came home at this time in the Afternoon and looked after her first - which Michael still did not want to judge as positive, since she was used to not being disturbed while studying.

  
"It's ... not an easy day for Mum. She won't be back until late Afternoon. Now grab a Jacket and I'll show you our village", Skylar didn't accept Michael’s excuses and walked a good ten minutes later Michael with visibly little Enthusiasm for this whole thing, alongside the teenager through the streets of Mystic.

"Isn't it much better than sitting in the Room and studying all the time?"

  
Michael wanted to keep silent, the Girl who was so full of motivation for life and had been released from school earlier, was talking to much. She preferred to learn to maybe play a game of Chess and though a bit about her increasingly dark thoughts. What did she have to go on a City tour with Skylar?

  
"I would have preferred to continue studying. It would have made more sense"; she replied shortly, hoping that her attempts had read through the learning material that was necessary so that they could keep up with the knowledge at School and it could expand. Or she would get bored and miss the lessons on Vulcan.

  
"And the fun? Mum always says that you have to find a healthy balance between studying and Fun and believe me, all eyes are on you at school at the first day, you should have fun before that Michael", Skylar replied with a wink - and gave the younger one with this statement just more questions about the upcoming first day of School.

  
"I don't go to school to have fun, but to be taught something and to be able to expand my knowledge", replied the 13-year-old somewhat uncomprehendingly and was unable to cope with the girl's Statement - well, she got along with this very strange conversation generally not very well at all.

"It's school - and the new ones are always eyed by everyone, don't worry we could have some classes together, but in front of the hard-working teachers, the arrogant popular Girls or the guys who flirt with everything that hasn't climbed a tree at the count of three, you can have a stressful first day Michael - believe me you need some fun before, that happens", Skylar shook her head and she was always happy when school was over and she still had enough time during the Evening, to take a shower and do her homework.

**********

  
The Tour of Mystic led the two Teenagers past some of the small village's major Attractions, such as the old Architecture of some of the Buildings proud of the seafaring the village is known for, and Skylar had briefly shown her where the Denison was located Pequotsepos Nature Center.

But Michael really didn't want to waste any more time, that would be of no use to her, and when Skylar wanted to lead her to the wooden anchor at Liberty Pole Square, Michael turned away and just walked home after throwing Skylar on the head, that she had no interest in this stupid Tour and this even more stupid City and certainly not in a ´Friendship´ with the young Teenager.

In her Anger that she had wasted the Afternoon so dumb Michael did not know, which street she had to turn to get Home and found herself in a street a few minutes later without a plan. But her own pride kept Michael away from asking for help or going back to Skylar.

********

A few more Minutes passed and when she heard Footsteps approaching her, she saw the 14-year-old approaching with a sarcastic grin on her Face.

"Okay, you're not interested in getting to know Mystic - but it's really stupid for someone who's just come into our Family and doesn't know her way around here and back to our Home - to just stubbornly leave without having a plan - yeah you must be so clever", Skylar said, then went ahead without further ado a conversation with Michael because Skylar was a little annoyed that she had put so much effort into it and that Michael was acting like someone who had no interest in the Place or Family with whom she would be living and herself just wanted to plunge into learning.

Maybe it was all too much at once, but most of the children that Skylar had seen coming and going in the past few Years were happy to see anything from the village - but thank you or some other form of appreciation, that they had a friendly Relationship with Michael hadn't come from the other Teenager. during the all the way back Home.

  
After the girls were back home and had just taken off their jackets, Skylar wanted to go into the living room , when Michael said the following sentence to the girl.

  
"Even if this walk was a - good intention - you shouldn't waste your time with such Nonsense. If I can go back to Vulcan, you will never see me again and you don´t have to waste your time with me", said Michael with complete conviction, leaving behind a speechless Skylar.


	6. First conversation

**First conversation**

Even after Dinner was over and the other foster Children had enthusiastically reported about their day in kindergarten and school, Michael clearly felt how cold Skylar was towards her and how often the older one had given her mean and cold looks as soon as Philippa paid her attention to the other children.

The young girl wondered for a moment if she had made a Mistake in her logical thinking - but she had made it clear to Skylar several times , that she would rather study and not feel like taking a tour of the city.

So it was all the older teen's fault. Michael had behaved well, and if Skylar had such a problem controlling her emotions, it wasn't her who had to deal with it.

And yet Michael couldn't avoid worrying about it. And so she had a conversation with Philippa - which surprised Michael a bit when the foster Mother asked her to come into the small Office.

"Please sit down, Michael"

  
Philippa had been told by Skylar, what had happened during her Absence and after she had spoken to Skylar , it was Michael’s turn now.

It was purely a protective measure by Philippa that she had left the girl alone lately.

There was a lot that had to be worked through and she would be tackling that in the near future.

But she would have to talk to Michael about the Rules and her behavior towards the other family members. Surely Skylar meant it nicely, but offended the other with words.

  
"What do you think is the Reason, why I asked you to come here, Michael?", Philippa continued and looked at the girl . It didn't take long for Michael to answer.

  
"I suppose it's about the incident this Afternoon - I've told Skylar several times, that I don't want a tour of the city", was Michael's reply.

  
"That's exactly what it's about. Both Skylar and you made a mistake. Skylar should have asked permission if it's okay for me, to do this tour with you, since I would have loved to be around. What do you think your mistake was Michael?"

  
Philippa was initially punished with silence on that part and the fromer Captain changed her seated position a buit.

Certainly she had been confronted with similar conversations on Vulcan, only that these were more rigid and strict. 

Philippa just wanted the young girl to reflect on her mistakes on this excursion so that she could do better next time.

"Any suggestions?" 

Another moment of silence came and Philippa saw that Michael could not only be very smart, but also very stubborn as well. So she helped her on this Point, also in order not to let this first conversation fizzle out or be dropped down to fast.

  
"I'll give you a tip okay Michael?. You could have said earlier, if you wanted to go home - Skylar would have certainly seen it and broken off the tour - she can be very excited when new Children arive at our Home - and Skylar loves to help them feel more ´Home´ here during their first days", suggested Philippa after a few seconds.

  
"She was so full of energy that she hardly allowed me to speak or let me say no!" , Michael grumbled stubbornly and avoided Philippa's gaze. It wasn't her fault if Skylar insisted so much on a stupid trip, was it?

  
"That's the Difference to the kids on Vulcan Michael - there are many different Characters and sometimes you have to tell Skylar that you don't want to do anything right away or that it's too much for you at the Moment. She never means it angry and just wants to welcome you in our Family. I am sure that you will learn to deal with it over time. What do you think went wrong?", said Philippa and this time she got an - albeit very stubborn - answer from Michael.

  
"I shouldn't have run away...without getting an map of the place i...guess?"

  
Philippa nodded, it could be dangerous if you simply make the decision to run away in a strange environment, just because something doesn't fit in with your likes and dislikes. This is not the best solution in the long run.

"That's right. Your choice of words after you both got home safe and sound is something - we can still work on, don't you think? In the future, I want you to be honest with Skylar and all the other Members of this Family , if something will be too much at this Moment or when you don´t feel good with it - but I also expect you , to stick to the Rules - we do a lot together as a Family and it helps many of the Children to adapt to the new Surroundings , as well as to the new daily routine. I would be happy - if you would give it all a chance ...if you give us a chance - we all just want to help you Michael"

Michael only gave a very skeptical nod as an answer. Family trips and activities - she'd done it with her parents before she came to Vulcan - there it was different...., except for Amanda's evening readings. Was she able to adapt and give this ´family´ a chance?

She didn't know, but the honest look on Philippa's face gave Michael some hope - it would be worth a try right?

"Well - now that we've settled this matter - I'd like you to apologize. Skylar should be in the living room"

Is this woman serious right now? Should she actually apologize to Skylar?

Michael wanted to return naughty comment, but something about Philippa's charisma kept her from doing .

Alternatively, Michael nodded again and was then accompanied by her new foster Mother down to the living room, where she apologized to Skylar for her behavior - but also got an apology from Skylar as an respond.

"I may have overreacted a little with my - good quality as a city guide today Michael I´am sorry. I am happy to be at your side when you start school in a few days Michael"


	7. Powerless

**Powerless**

Within the next Week, the Relationship between Skylar and Michael improved a lot.

The Fact that the two Girls attended joint most of the Courses at School contributed a great deal to this and the older one had helped Michael a lot when she started School, had shown her the most important do's and don'ts and gave her an overview of her schedule and they ate lunch together in the Cafeteria.

Still, Michael couldn't deny that she really missed her old school on Vulcan.

There the Teachers were not only more strict, no the Content and the Tasks that were set in the class, were so much more demanding and deepened the Topic more. But it was something that she had to get used to. To go to a normal School and deal with all the Problems that bother you was a new Challenge she couldn't see herself getting used to anytime soon - but she must try it at least.

Furthermore, Michael had Problems to cope with the new Family dynamic and this completely different way of living together.

There was a lot more laughter in the House, it was fun and every evening Philippa stopped by the Rooms to say good night to her foster Children. The subject of ´Fun´ was a big building site for Michael and she wanted to try to work on it, to take these weekly Family evenings and trips to heart as well - but she was not used to it and missed the rhythm of her old life with Amanda, Sarek and Spock.

But since the first Conversation with her foster Mother last week, Michael had never spoken again about the Fact, that she would soon be back in her old Home. The Reaction Skylar had revealed to her didn't want bring that Topic up again.

"I think it's really impressive how you don't lose your Temper in Mr. Ginster's Math class - he's so mean and yells at us every little thing we do wrong - and it'll be good for you when Mum isn't called over here in your second week of school ", Skylar and Michael had secured a place in the cafeteria and admired the self-control of the younger girl - but the self-confidence and the sometimes cheeky answers to Questions could get her into trouble sooner or later.

"Mr. Ginster is doing himself a disservice, when he wants to keep his class under control by screaming and fear. And ... thank you ... that was a compliment, right?", Michael inquired before taking her lunch box out of her bag . Sarcasm was something she wasn't used to and with Skylar you could never be sure in certain situations whether she meant the answer.

  
"Yes, that was a Compliment - are you actually going to be with us on the next family trip to the Zoo? I know Mum said you can study at Home this time - but it would be cool not only to be surrounded by younger siblings?", Skylar was still researching and Michael hadn't even thought about this Point - she had pushed it aside and wanted to come to terms with the new school and the new rules, which were so strange and illogical to her.

"I ... don't know yet, but I have another question Skylar"  
Michael paused briefly and watched skeptically as the older one began to pull the salad off her sandwich.

  
"You know that lettuce is healthy, right?", Michael added in a more knowing tone. Skylar gave only an amused grin.  
"Yes, but lettuce on a sandwich? Really? What is your question", Skylar bit her lettuce-free sandwich undeterred and it took Michael a moment to avert her gaze from the lettuce leaf , that was plucked out on the plate.

  
"Last week, on the tour threw Mystic, you said - that it was a difficult day for Philippa. Is there a precise definition for this difficult day? What was difficult for her?"

Michael had wanted to ask her foster Sister this question for a long time, she had only suppressed this small detail long enough, too many other things had spread in her head that had demanded her Attention. But why had it been a difficult day for the former Captain? Every single day was hard or...an Challenge...but difficult dosen´t fit her Forster Mother.

"It was a year ago - we had a little girl with us, she was 2 years old and came from terrible Family Circumstances - when she spoke for the first time it was the Word Mommy - when she trusted Mum and the other Children after a long Time. But the sad Part about happy Moments are...they never stay very long...one day, someone from the Child Protectiv Service suddenly stood in front of our Door, explaining that this Girl would be brought to her Aunt and Uncle - they had tried to get access close to her - it broke the Hearts of both my Family Members Juniper and Mum", finished Skylar her Story and a sad expression was now own her Face for a Moment.

"Maybe her uncle and aunt are nice to her and care about her in a good way?", Michael guessed and earned an immediate no from Skylar.

  
"Before Juniper came to us, she had never said a word - when she saw her Relatives, she burst into Tears and didn't want to let go of Mum ... but if you live in a Foster family, nothing is Permanent until you´re adopted but thats a different and long other Story.... it's a terrible unfaif Michael ", Skylar managed and sighed deeply. Each of the foster Children had won a place in Philippa's heart, but the Teenager had sensed that Juniper was very special for Philippa.

And back than not only the former Captains Heart broke into little Peaces, after she and the other Kids watched, how little Juniper was carried out the House crying and screaming - no Junipers Heart was broken as well. Nothing is Permanent and that´s why she wanted to gave Michael the best Start in the Family she can do - because if they could count on each other...this horrobile Moments are better to deal with.

"There is nothing that could have been done?", Michael asked skeptically after a while and as Skylar had described it, this little girl had been a loss that hit the Family hard.   
"What should we have done Michael? Mum tried everything to make Juniper stay with us - it didn't work and she was so devastated the next few days... You're powerless and can't do anything - it just happens - and then most of the times it happens during the Moments where you don't expect it "

*******

  
When the two Teenagers had finished the last Lesson - Michael herself witnessed, how powerless both sides - the foster children and Philippa were in such a Situation. After both girls came Home, they heard the loud Protest from one of the other Children from inside.

Apparently it was now time for Logan , to go back to his Mother and the five year old didn't want to leave.

He didn't want to go to the stupid man , who kept saying that his mother was looking forward to gave him back away again. Logan screamed loudly, that he wanted to stay here and a few more blocks missed the Social Worker in the child's anger and hit Skylar instead.

Michael didn't know how she felt, or how she should act, when Logan was brought out of the house by the social Worker and the boy was crying loudly and he kept calling Philippa's Name - but he must have felt just as desperate and powerless as Philippa.

Could it be that Michael felt pity? No, feelings were just a distraction and would negatively affect your logical thinking. But even her Logic could hardly protect her from the horrific moments of harsh Reality.

And this harsh Reality scared Michael for the first Time she was brought to Earth. Skylar was right - Reality hits you in the most unexpected Moments. And it hits you so unfair hart. 


	8. Don't hide from your feelings

_"I don't want someone like as a brother - you're a FREAK Spock!"_

  
_"But I love you Michael - you´re my Sister"_

  
_"Love? You are incapable of love Spock - face it! You worthless half-breed!"_

_With a frightened expression on his face, Spock looked at his older sister and finally his lips formed a thin line before he responded to her last sentence._

_"Nobody wants you in this family because you are mean and naugthy! They will gave you away Michael! You´re the one who is worthless!"_

_Then it suddenly became very hot around the forecourt of the house on Vulcan and Michael realized , that a large fire had formed that was now approaching Spock and swallowing him in the Flames - the last thing Michael was capable of was a loud panicked cry and screaming ....._

  
*******

Another Week has passed since the first Conversation with Michael and the incident with Logan, who was now back with his biological Family.

Philippa was able to discover small subtleties in Michael's basic behavior, that could indicate a short-term improvement.

Although she sat at with the family by film evenings or game nights, she still seemed impassive and seemed to let the whole thing go through her.

At school, against Philippa's fears, there had been no incident due to the cheeky, slightly stubborn nature of the Teenager, but the former Captain was pleased that Michael seemed to get better along with Skylar. There were problems that Philippa hadn't addressed yet - little things that caught her Attention, especially at night, that Michael thinks would have gone unnoticed.

For example, there were various moments when Philippa heard the 13 year old girl crying and screaming in the Bedroom. She had been in the kitchen for a long time that one day and then wanted to go straight to bed, but instead of addressing the child directly about the cause of her sadness, she did not want to offend her and had heard Michael how between the crying sounds, that she said to herself that she wasn't worth of a second chance.

The fears in everyday life, for example when Nathan ran wild through the house and let his energy run free, had the direct consequence that Michael quickly withdrew to her room. She was not used to loud noises and that must have been, Philippa suspected, an aftermath of the attack by the Klingons on her parents.

She'd never got the therapy she needed so badly and was terribly scared about things like that, even if she didn't want to admit it. Poor Michael.

Then there were the Nightmares.

At least once a week Philippa was woken up by the panicked scream of the girl, her careful attempts to calm her down and to give her the maternal closeness that she had been denied since she was 8 years old , were never crowned with success - every time Michael slipped closer on the wall, apologized and sent Philippa out of her room. It wouldn't go any further like this - there had to be a way to penetrate the scared and traumatized child.

Philippa sighed softly and opend her hair braid. She couldn't avoid seeing a counselor or, alternatively, a child psychologist with the Teenager.

It would help the girl to talk to someone about it and through an acquaintance Philippa had contact with Katrina Cornwall, who had already helped her with Nathan and Juniper. But first she had to show the girl , who had adopted the Vulcan way of life in the last few years , that she didn't have to be afraid of her feelings and that it was okay to face them.

Then suddenly she heard a panicked scream and ran out of her Bedroom, straight to Michael's room, where she switched on the lamp and sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully touching Michael's shoulder and trying to calm her down. The girl gave another panicked cry and seemed to be plagued by a nightmare.

  
"You have a nightmare Michael - you have to wake up, do you hear? Can you please wake up for me? I´am right by your side - nothing bad is going to happen to you Michael - look at me", Philippa said gently but firmly and her hand was still resting on the girl's shoulder, when she finally opened her dark eyes after long minutes.

  
*******

  
She had the feeling that she couldn't escape from this horrific scenario, she didn't want to see Spock being devoured by the fire, she didn't want to hear either how her little brother screamed in pain and she could smell the burned skin clearly - then suddenly took it she was subconsciously a voice telling her to wake up - and Michael then did just that.

When the Girl opened her dark eyes, she looked directly into the bright light of the ceiling lamp and was confused about what had happened.

  
"P ... Philippa?", confused and visibly scared, Michael looked at her foster mother who was sitting on the edge of the bed and looked at her with concern.

When the girl noticed that Philippa had gently touched her shoulder, she winced and wanted to slide closer to the wall as usual, but Philippa's hand stayed where it was and Michael was forced to look directly at the older woman - the former Captains eyes expressed so much understanding and Micheal was able calm down a bit.

  
"It's not the first time you've been plagued by a nightmare, right Michael?"

  
Michael nodded weakly at the question - everything she had seen in the past few minutes had been a nightmare ... but it had seemed so real.

  
"It looked so real...", said Michael and when she felt tears welling up in her eyes, she ran a hand over her eyes and wanted to suppress this panic - somehow hide it.

"You don't need to hide from your feelings and Emotions Michael - they are human and belong to you - it´s what makes you human. I am there for you when you need me, okay. Don´t push me away again Michael?"

  
Something about the kind woman who tried so hard to understand Michael and who was now sitting here on the edge of the bed, let all dams break inside Michael.

She didn't know why, but she followed the request and burst into tears, sobbing told Philippa, what she had dreamed and how scared it had caused her - she could no longer suppress her emotions and let Philippa pull her into a comforting hug - the However, tears continued to flow.

She was overwhelmed with so many emotions and the closeness that Philippa wanted to give her comforting as if it were taken for granted.

  
"I promise you, we will work to make you feel better and that you can be happy again Michael. I am very proud of you that you have complied with my request and that you accepted my help", said Philippa and stroked over the girl's cheek.

Perhaps everything could change from now on and they could work together to help Michael deal with the traumatic experiences and her fears.


End file.
